Realtor check in

Last Monday I met up with my realtor, Gary and had a realtor check in (or is that reality check?) I have been using Gary for about 20 years, so he’s someone I trust. I had him do a walk-through of both Greg’s and my units. I was curious, more about Greg’s unit and just how much to do/spend before listing.

I was going to leave the existing laminate floors, which are beech. He advised that I should continue through with the grey that I used in the kitchen and go into the den as well. Greg and I both agreed to do the entry and dining area, but decided to leave the den. Partly because it seems a bit more consistent to have the carpeting in the living room, bedroom and den, abutting on three sides.

Yes, I write my name on all my tools…

First step is ripping up the existing floors. So fun ripping up laminate flooring, it comes up so easy. It’s going to look so much better! Though it tends to get uglier before it gets better.

Ripping out the old flooring is so fun! It’s always more fun to demo!

Gary agreed with me regarding the appliances, although he thought it would be worth our while to buy new using a package deal. I defer to Greg on this one, I am leaving the appliances to him. He works with a lot of contractors that build condos, so might be able to get a deal that way. I still believe that just replacing for newer used ones would be okay too.

I have just ordered my mobile storage unit, so can start de-cluttering. Also, the beauty of this is that I can put anything that I am going to be selling down there as well, and then I do not need to bring people up to my condo. Will put the stove down there, and give it away. The fridge is going to need to go to the dump. Lots of other bits and bites to go down too. Will use this to de-clutter both mine and Greg’s units.

Also, my building is super hot for condo sales. One just sold on the second floor, just across from Greg’s place, and the one across the hall from me, and beside me are both for sale (and may already be sold) So, that good, but need to get going, so as not to miss the BUBBLE!!!

This also gave us a very good indication of how much bang for your buck you get from renovating and staging. Both condos are 2 bedroom and 1 bath. Both are on the top floor. The layouts are different, but the updated one, has the inferior layout. The price difference between the two is $20,000. So, that goes to show you how much more money you can make just by upgrading. So, put in 3 or 4 thousand, and you will probably make yourself $15 – 20,000. That is my master plan for this whole project!

I have next week off work, so my plan is to blitz the place and get everything done.

I had to go to Vancouver for a work conference last week, and managed to fit in a trip to IKEA, here is some of the STUFF that I bought to assist with staging:

Also, I ordered a nice big grey rug, to go under the dining room table. The existing rug is brown and not in good shape. I got it on sale for $60 at good old Walmart. When it arrived it was a lot bigger than I thought it was. For some reason I thought it was 4 x 6, but turns out it is 6.5 x 8.5. A pretty good deal for $60!

Can’t wait for you to see the finished product. Hang on, it’s coming sooner than you think!